Symposium Program from Taiwan Meeting
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International Human Rights Network of Academies and Scholarly Societies TENTH BIENNIAL MEETING May 23-26, 2012 Symposium SCIENCE AND HUMAN RIGHTS: A CRUCIAL ALLIANCE Wednesday, May 23, 2012 Center for Academic Activities For further information contact the Network secretariat: Conference Room I International Human Rights Network of Academies and Scholarly Societies c/o Committee on Human Rights The National Academies Hosted by the Academia Sinica 500 Fifth Street, N.W. 128 Academia Road, Section 2 Washington, D.C. 20001 Nankang, Taipei 115, Taiwan tel: 202-334-3043 * fax: 202-334-2225 * [email protected] www.nationalacademies.org/hrnetwork n the occasion of its tenth biennial meeting, the members of the Executive Committee of the International Human Rights Network of Academies and Scholarly Societies acknowledge with gratitude the financial support provided by the Australian Academy of Science, the French Academy of Sciences, the German National Academy of Sciences OLeopoldina (with support from the German Federal Foreign Office), the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences (USA), the National Academy of Engineering (USA), and the Institute of Medicine (USA) for travel to the meeting for partici- pants from national academies in developing countries. The Executive Committee particularly thanks the Academia Sinica, its generous members, and its hard-working staff for hosting this event and for also supporting the travel of four participants. The committee’s members are appreciative of both the moral and financial support. 1 2 INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS NETWORK OF ACADEMIES AND SCHOLARLY SOCIETIES The Network aims to put into practice the profes- sional duty of scientists and scholars to assist those colleagues whose human rights have been—or are threatened to be—infringed and to promote and protect the independence of academies and scholarly societies worldwide. Approved unanimously at the May 11, 2001, fifth biennial meeting of the Inter- national Human Rights Network of Academies and Scholarly Societies, held at the French Academy of Sciences in Paris. NETWORK Mission Statement he International Human Rights Network of Academies and Scholarly Societies, created in 1993, consists of national academies and schol- arly societies around the world that work together to address serious science and human rights issues of mutual concern. The primary objective of the Network and the motivating factor in its creation is to use the influence and prestige of its members, working in a collaborative manner, to Tactively defend the rights of professional colleagues—scientists, medical profession- als, engineers, and scholars—who are unjustly imprisoned or persecuted for nonvio- lently expressing their opinions. The Network’s appeals are based on the standards set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Network members subscribe to the belief that, because their academies and scholarly societies are held in high esteem and their dignity, integrity, and objectivity are widely recognized, their interventions can be an effective and influential tool in advancing respect for human rights. The Network strives to provide its member academies with 3 protection and moral support when their independence is threatened, their mem- bers or colleagues are subjected to repression, or their scholarly work is undermined for political reasons. Through the exchange of human-rights-related ideas, informa- tion, and experiences, the Network encourages cooperation and communication among academies and advances understanding of human rights issues that relate to science, technology, and health. It opposes, unequivocally, boycotts of academics and academic institutions. The Network supports human rights consciousness raising, education, and insti- tutional commitment to human rights work among counterpart academies and scholarly societies worldwide. More than a dozen member academies now work collaboratively in submitting cases of unjustly imprisoned colleagues to UNESCO’s Committee on Conventions and Recommendations. The Network also sends observ- ers to the trials of colleagues, such as those of Alexandr Nikitin in Russia, Saad Eddin Ibrahim in Egypt, and to visit unjustly imprisoned colleagues, such as Binayak Sen, M.D., in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India. The Network is administered by an Executive Committee. The founding members were François Jacob (France), Pieter van Dijk (Netherlands), Max Perutz (United Kingdom), and Torsten Wiesel (United States of America). The current Executive Committee members are Arjuna Aluwihare (Sri Lanka), Dorairajan Balasubramanian (India), Claude Cohen-Tannoudji (France), Abdallah S. Daar (Canada/Oman), Felton Earls (United States of America), Belita Koiller (Brazil), Pedro León Azofeifa (Costa Rica), Ida Nicolaisen (Denmark), John Polanyi (Canada), and Alenka Šelih (Slovenia). The Committee on Human Rights of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine in Washington, D.C., serves as secretariat for the Network. Carol Corillon directs the committee and is Executive Director of the Network. Although the Network’s Executive Committee occasionally makes public statements about particularly grave situations of relevance to the Network’s charge and encour- ages academies that are Network members to do the same, all member institutions of the Network have full autonomy and act at their own discretion. They are strongly encouraged to create human rights committees and to urge their academies and their members to intervene on cases and issues brought to their attention by the Network secretariat through regular “Action Alerts” sent by e-mail and posted on a 4 private Network website. Members are also encouraged to refer potentially relevant cases and human rights issues to the Network secretariat for investigation and possible action and to inform the secretariat of particular situations that Network members should be made aware of or in which its Executive Committee may want to intervene in a formal manner. It is possible that, as relations among members of the Network are strengthened and mutual concerns are more widely identified, the Network will undertake other actions as a whole. Every two years a different member academy hosts a symposium and workshop for the Network. Hosts to date have been the U.S. National Academies (1993), the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (1995), the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei in Italy (1997), the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts, Letters, and Antiquities (1999), the French Academy of Sciences (2001), the Council of Swiss Scientific Academies (2003), The Royal Society of the United Kingdom (2005), the National Academy of Sciences of Sri Lanka (2007), and the Academy of the Kingdom of Morocco (2009) The Network receives financial support for its biennial meetings from its member academies, as well as grants from private foundations and gifts from individual donors. It needs and will gratefully accept donations from private foundations, private donors, and member academies to support the operations of its secretariat. Academia Sinica is the most preeminent academic institution in Taiwan. It was founded in 1928 to promote scholarly research in the country and to undertake academic research in the sciences and humanities. In recent years, under the leadership of former president Yuan T. Lee and incum- bent president Chi-Huey Wong, Academia Sinica has been transformed into a modern research institution. Many of the 24 research institutes and 7 research centers are now headed by world-class scholars and staffed by highly trained, motivated, and creative young researchers. Major strides have also been made toward raising the standards of academic research, and Academia Sinica is presently positioning itself to move its research activities to the international level. Aside from placing greater emphasis on open- ing up new areas of intellectual endeavors, Academia Sinica is also taking a leading role in launching new initiatives in applied areas to meet a broad spectrum of societal needs in Taiwan. 5 Program 9h00 Welcome Chien-Jen Chen 9h05 Science, Human Rights, and the Purpose of Our Network Ida Nicolaisen 9h20 Symposium Overview Felton Earls, M.D. 9h30 OPENING ADDRESS: Science and Human Rights in South-East Asia – an Overview Vitit Muntarbhorn 10h00 Discussion 10h15 Science, Technology, and Global Internet Access Ovid Tzeng: Freedom of expression; tools of repression Chao-Han Liu: Education and collaboration 10h30 Discussion 10h45 BREAK 11h15 KEYNOTE ADDRESS: The Grandest Challenge: Taking Life-Saving Science from Lab to Village Abdallah S. Daar, M.D. 11h45 Discussion 12h00 Unjustly Imprisoned Scientific Colleagues – Moderator, Felton Earls, M.D. Felton Earls: Why scientists have an advantage and an obligation to help Carol Corillon: Where are the prisoners? Why are they threatened and abused? Pedro León Azofeifa: Examples of recent successes 12h30 Discussion 12h45 LUNCH 6 14h00 MAX PERUTZ MEMORIAL LECTURE Introduction by Claude Cohen-Tannoudji Natural Scientists Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize Erling Norrby 14h45 Discussion 15h00 Human Rights and Scientific Responsibility Felton Earls, M.D.: Toward a global medical oath 15h15 Science and Scientists in Turkey – an Overview Asli Tolun 15h30 Discussion 15h45 BREAK 16h00 Science and Indigenous People – Moderator: Pedro León Azofeifa I da Nicolaisen: The human rights situation among